Breaking News ForumWhite House praises Senate immigration plan at News Forum - WASHINGTON — The White House is praising an agreement on immigration reform reached by senators from both parties, calling it ...

Mebbe immigration reform divide an' conquer tactics will prevent amnesty...US Immigration Proposal Divides Reform Advocates January 28, 2013 - A legislative proposal out of Washington may soon give hope to millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States, while at the same time sparking renewed fears of a system run amok and warnings that years of inaction have made the problem only more complex.

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The plan, being floated by a group of Democratic and Republican senators, calls for a “tough but fair” path to citizenship that helps attract and retain high-skilled workers while ensuring immigrants who apply for jobs are in the country legally.

​​Groups like the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) are not impressed. “To a certain extent this is déjà vu,” said Special Projects Coordinator Jack Martin. “It basically is a rehash of the push that was made in 2007 to come up with a comprehensive immigration reform that could pass. And it did not pass Congress.”

FAIR’s biggest objection is the plan’s path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants, a provision it sees as nothing more than a general amnesty. “The public basically opposes that because of the fact that they want people to come into our country legally, and they see the amnesty-type proposal as encouraging more illegal immigration,” Martin said.

Yet that “tough but fair path” to citizenship is exactly what many groups that work with undocumented workers have been clamoring for, and something they say has been sorely lacking from the country’s intense focus on immigration enforcement. “It’s almost like the Wild West where workers are isolated and they have very little rights and protection,” said Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and co-director of the Caring Across Generations Campaign.

Granny says dey already got Simpson-Mazolli onna books - enforce dat!...US immigration reform bill faces difficult passageMon, May 27, 2013 - The biggest proposed overhaul of US immigration laws in a generation won bipartisan approval from a powerful US Senate committee last week, but there is a strong chance that Republicans in the US House of Representatives will end up killing it.

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The problem: House Republicans are far from convinced by arguments from party leaders that passage of the bill would help Republicans draw support from Hispanic voters. Many also believe any kind of amnesty for the estimated 11 million immigrants who are in the US illegally is just plain wrong. “There is no evidence to support this idea that Republicans will pick up a lot of votes if we give amnesty to 11 million folks,” Republican Representative Tim Huelskamp said One possibility is that the House will vote for watered-down reform, including more visas for highly skilled workers. However, it likely will not include a way for the undocumented to stay legally and eventually get on a special pathway to US citizenship.

Senate Democrats and even several Senate Republicans say there is no way a comprehensive immigration bill could win final congressional approval without a pathway to citizenship. “It’s a non-starter,” said Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, a member of the Gang of Eight senators who wrote the bipartisan Senate bill. Several House Republican lawmakers say that even if the party would gain votes by supporting sweeping reform, that is no reason to back otherwise objectionable legislation. “I don’t think we should be worried about the political impact, but instead what is in the best interest of America,” Republican Representative Mo Brooks said. Besides, “people who are going to break our laws, I don’t want them in this country,” he said.

This kind of opposition from House Republicans may pose the biggest threat to White House-backed legislation set to come next month before the full Senate, which Obama’s Democrats hold, 55-45. Republicans control the House, 233-201 with one vacancy. Most Republicans have traditionally opposed legalization as a form of amnesty that rewards law breaking and they see as providing an incentive for further illegal border crossing. The bill that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, 13-5, on Tuesday last week — with support from three Republicans — includes putting illegal residents on a 13-year pathway to citizenship, provided they pay back taxes and a fine, learn English, hold a job and pass criminal background checks. The measure, backed by business and labor, also would bolster border security and help fill the need for high and low-skilled workers.

After Hispanics gave US President Barack Obama 71 percent support in last year’s presidential election, the Republican National Committee endorsed comprehensive immigration reform in March, saying that without reaching out to the fastest-growing large segment of the US voting population, the party could say goodbye to the presidency for generations to come. Two months later, many Republicans remain unconvinced, particularly in the House, where only 39 of the 233 members come from districts that are 20 percent or more Hispanic, according to a recent study by Alex Engler in the Georgetown Public Policy Review. Huelskamp recalled a private strategy meeting earlier this year where political pollsters offered their findings and advice to House Republicans.